Hi all. Thanks for the previous advice. I want to get more experience in music photography, does anyone have any advice on gaining permission from venues to photograph inside. how does this work at festivals? Is there a place/company to apply to get a photographers pass? I am registered as self employed photographer (not my main profession) is this helps.
I've been doing band photography for a few years professionally and know exactly how it works. There's always differences between gigs and it only depends on you where you want to go. I also can only tell you what it's like here in Western Canada. Depending on your geographical location this might be whole lot of different.
First off, all by yourself you're not gonna get anywhere. You will be trying desperately but you will always end up behind the door with your frustration. There has to be somebody there who will get you in. You as a photographer have no chance of doing it. This can only be done if it's a very small local band playing in a small venue on Sunday afternoon where entry is free. With bigger venues you would need to be either a guest of the and or endorsed by the management of the venue. As for the famous bands on the tour (if you plan to get there) you will need someone from the company that is behind the tour to get you in. Famous bands have tour managers whom you will never get to. They are in charge of who's getting in and who's gonna have a photo pass. To get them hook you up with one you need to be friends with management of the company that put the concert together. There's no other way around it.
How do I do it? I managed to get in touch with one of the top people from Union Events - these guys organize concerts in whole western Canada and basically have their hand in every major rock gig that happens in this part of the land. They have their own website so I also supply pictures for their own promo. They are the one who get me in with a photo pass because they are tour manager’s right hands during the stay in our town. With smaller gigs, I once again get hooked up by venue owner whom I provide with pictures for his own website too. With smaller bands you don't have to go through tour manager and these bands are usually happy when there is a photographer cause it makes them feel like they are stars. So you usually don't need any sticker as photo pass. All it takes is a venue manager letting security guys know that you are there for the venue and therefore allowed to use camera freely. Same goes with festivals. Unless you know someone from the management (or someone who knows someone fron the management) chances are rather miserable that you will get in. However you can try contacting anyone on your own. Set up a meeting with a top person, show him your portfolio and tell him what he could get in return. Bit by bit you should be able to work your way up just like me and start being invited instead of asking to go there. You then will start getting paid too. Just remember, there way too much competition out there. Too many photographers would like to do this. You have to be better than them and have to maintain good relationship with the top guys.
Hi Mark, thanks for all the info and advice all of which was really useful. I've now got a long list of stuff to action. just seen your link so i'm off to check it out.
